MYSTERY SHOPPER | EASTBOURNE SPONSORED BY
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A memorial overlooking Eastbourne’s pier
Evolution
GREETED ON the doormat it was a strong first impression from this town centre store. As one of the more talkative and confident sales
pitches of the day, Mystery Shopper was in store for as long as the duration of a beachfront parking ticket would allow. In that time Evolution's staff managed to remove bikes from the racks for me to get to grips with, make well reasoned comparisons between the value for money aspects of various brands and dispatch my questions about fitting extras such as guards with ease. Evolution was only one of two stores to mention
properly sizing me up to a bike, which you'd think is a necessity for this kind of purchase. Furthermore, beyond our discussion about guard fitting, the storekeeper also made strong attempts to toy with my semi flexible budget, recommending the purchase of a helmet and cycling shoes, should I choose to clip in. Resisting the urge to give away any detail that would allow me to order online, this store gave me real incentives to return for a purchase, using 2011 end of line discounts that “may not hang around for long” as a lure.
Tri Store
ONE OF the more spacious, well presented outlets in town, Tri Store carried a strong range from multiple brands, giving the assistant plenty to contrast and compare. Both pros and cons were had here, with the latter
centering largely around the assistant freely giving up the information on sizing that I’d need to go in order to shop online without any suggestion of why it’s best to buy (and size up) local when dropping £1,000 on a road bike.
There were, however, far more positives to take away,
with warranty of each brand in my price bracket covered, a discussion on the transition from flat pedals to clip ins and the intermittent personal recommendations, which ultimately gave this store a lot more character than other stores that had stuck to the hard facts. This was also the only shop to enquire about whether
my employer offered a cycle to work scheme, which according to the staffer “could see me walk away with a bundle of kit,” given my upper 1K budget.
BIKEBIZ.COM
Cycleman
CYCLEMAN APPEARED to stock a bit of everything, with a display outside and higher priced bikes inside. Perhaps just to Mystery Shopper’s taste, a manned workstand on the shop floor often makes a retail environment look cluttered. Nonetheless, it does get you seen quickly.
On that plus point, the assistant was able to step
away from his repair job and immediately begin selling bikes, flagging three up – one above my price range. Explaining the build in a jargon free manner, this Italian made Botecchia was compared to the lower priced Claud Butler’s in a concise fashion. Weight was first to be discussed and bikes were pulled from the racks for that hands on approach. The versatility of a flat barred bike with knobbly tyres was then touted, should I ever have the urge to return to my earlier discussed ‘off road roots’. When Mystery Shopper pushed the topic of add on sale pieces such as mudguards, the helper became a little more stand off-ish, providing no concise answers on whether or not the bikes in question could accommodate guards come winter.
Summary
IT’S TOUGH to say that any store really ‘nailed it’ on this visit. As strong as Evolution and Tri Store were, both had plus points over one another in certain areas – and were furthermore head and shoulders above others in town on this occasion. There’s plenty of competition in this coastal town and
there were a handful of other retailers Mystery Shopper could have visited had we enough room on the page. This, to me, says that if you’re going to be in business here you’ve got to be sharp and stand out in a customer’s mind once they’ve left the store. On this merit alone, Evolution will scoop this month’s Star Store.
BIKEBIZ APRIL 1 1
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